Columbia Police Department officers responded to reports of an assault at 11:09 p.m. Thursday at Tropical Liqeurs in downtown Columbia.

CPD Spokeswoman Latisha Stroer said the victim was assaulted by a group of men who came to Tropical Liqeurs following a text-messaging quarrel between the victim and one of the four men in the group.

The victim, who will remain unidentified until police identify other suspects involved in the assault, said he had texted his ex-girlfriend as well as others, inviting them to join him at Tropical Liqeurs. One of the men in the group had possession of the ex-girlfriend’s phone and was responding with text messages making fun of the victim.

The victim said when the text messages continued, he and his friends all started texting and calling the number. The victim then invited the unknown sender to Tropical Liqeurs.

“Four guys came out of nowhere,” the victim said. “They knew me, but I had no idea who any of them were.”

The victim said he started to take a picture of the man with his phone and then one of the other men in the group hit the phone out of his hand in the street. When the victim went to retrieve the phone, he made a comment to the male, who then punched him in the face. Following the punch, the group ran off in different directions.

“The last thing I remember was looking at this big guy in the face,” he said. “I hit the ground really hard.”

The victim’s girlfriend said one of their friends called the police, and she took the victim to the emergency room at University Hospital.

Stroer said EMS was called to the scene. Police are still investigating who was involved in the assault.
The victim said he suffered a concussion, has part of his tooth missing, had to get a staple in his head and lost blood.
Stroer said CPD officers later responded to the victim’s call from the University Hospital ER to talk to him.